Superior Innovations in Composites: FutureCarbon on Show at Hanover 2010

(Nanowerk News) At this year's Hanover Fair, FutureCarbon, a leading name in carbon supercomposites, is presenting its innovative products based on carbon nanomaterials. Included are Carbo e-Therm, an electrically heated coating, and CarboGran, a simply dispersed granulate.

FutureCarbon is exhibiting its products at the Hanover Fair in hall 6 at booth K14. One of the highlights is a vehicle door with a Carbo e-Therm electrical heating coating that can be operated on a non-hazardous small voltage of 12 volts. Carbo e-Therm is easily applied, manually or mechanically, to different shapes and forms, especially when it is a matter of heating complex surface geometries or guarding against frost. In the automobile industry Carbo e-Therm is now being used to electrically heat steering wheels, dashboards and doors. But this is not the only sector to profit from the advantages. The foodstuffs industry has discovered Carbo e-Therm for tempering production plant, and in other sectors it is used to protect particular kinds of piping against frost. Visitors have ample opportunity to gain an impression of all the surface heating possibilities offered by Carbo e-Therm.

FutureCarbon is also presenting a live demonstration of CarboGran, a simply dispersed granulate of carbon nanotubes suitable for direct use in very different manufacturing processes. Visitors can learn how easily CarboGran is dissolved in fluids and compare this to standard carbon nanomaterials. CarboGran dissolves immediately and the carbon nanotubes distribute evenly in the fluid.

CarboGran can be used to create electrical conductivity in materials. Dispersions of CarboGran are worked into fabrics and fleece to make them electrically conducting and suitable for producing special-purpose antistatic clothing. CarboGran is also used for varnish or paint formulations with carbon nanotubes, intended for the automobile industry or machine plant. Surfaces that charge electrically can then subsequently be given a discharging layer of paint.

Yet another application for CarboGran is in the manufacture of electrically conducting thermoplastic compounds. The powder is free flowing and not dusty, so it can go into standard compounding processes. Dispersibility in polymers such as polyamide is very good. The electrical conductivity of CNT compounds is high enough for a powder coating without subsequently degrading the mechanical properties of the polymer.

About FutureCarbon

FutureCarbon specializes in the development and manufacture of carbon nanomaterials and their refinement into so called carbon supercomposites as primary products for industrial further processing. Carbon supercomposites are composite materials that evolve the special properties of carbon nanomaterials in the macroscopic world of real applications. All of our materials are manufactured on an industrial scale.